Enameling furnace



Feb. 17, 1925.

H. C3.v BEASLEY ENAMELING FURNACE Filed May 13, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

y v1,526,582 PATENT oFF-ICE.

HERBERT CHARLES BASLEY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 COONLEY MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ENAMELING FURNACE.

Applicativi mea may 1a,

' To all lwhom t may concern:

v residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook an'd State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Enameling Furnaces, of which the following is a full, clear,

concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

, My invention relates 4to enameling furnaces, and has for its object to provide a furnace of the character designated which is adapted for continuous operation and in which the Various portions are so arranged that uniformity of product is obtained therefrom.

' At the present time the most commonly used type of enameling furnaces is of the gas or coal fired muffle type, the muifle extending the entire length of the heating chamber of the furnace. The articles to which the enamel has been applied are placed in the furnace in which a temperature is maintained which will fuse the enamel. .After the enamel has been fused the articles are withdrawn and allowed to cool.

It is obvious that in 'a furnace of this type it is substantially impossible to employ a continuous process. Moreover, the articles cannot be uniformly treated because of the varied degrees of temperature in the several portions of the fusing chamber. Y When the articles are withdrawn from the furnace and'allowed to cool inthe open they tend to warp and must, therefore, be straightened after being enameled. This warping tendency is also present when the articles are placed in the furnace without being pre-heated because theextreme heat `of the burning chamber does notraise the temperature of the articles gradually.

One Aobject of my invention, therefore,

is to provide a furnace wherein articles may be pre-heated prior to being subjected to the extreme heatof the fusing chamber. The tendency of the articles to warp is thereby reduced and a more uniform product secured while the use of a pre-heating chamber wherein the waste heat is utilized effects a considerable, economy in the consumption of fuel.

. Another object of my invention is to provide a cooling chamber into which the articles, upon which the enamel has been 1920, Serial' No. 380,958.r

fused, are directed as they emerge from the burning ch'amber.y In thls cooling chamber ythe temperature 'is so adjusted that the articles cool uniformly and do not evince a tendency to warp.y This results in a considerable savin in operation .because the articles do not ave to be reformed after fusing.

A furnace embodying my invention is so constructed that the articles which are continuously supplied thereto pass first through the pre-heating chamber, then the burning chamber, and finally the cooling chamber. By the use of such a continuous furnace each article passes through the same heating and cooling zones and thereby receives a more uniform treatment than is possible with the present methods, whereby articles in the rear of the furnace receive more heat than those in the front or near the door. Moreover, in a furnace of this type the articles are loaded at one end and unloaded at the opposite end whereby the confusion incidental to loading and unloading articles at the same end of the furnace, as -is necessary with the present type furnace, is eliminated.

Finally the use of compartments positioned on either side of the burning chamber and having a lower temperature than that existing in said burning chamber,

' shields the workmen from the intense heat radiated fromrthe burning chamber. This is of great advantage in that it prevents the exposure of the workman to the intense heat and enables one of little skill to carry out the enameling process. In the prior processes the condition of the enameled article while being fused was determined solely by 'the operator who had to 'depend on his eyesight and experience to guide him in deciding when the fusing operation was satisfactorily completed. In my process the fusing period is regulated automatically by the rate at which the articles are fed throng the furnace whereby an even and uniform product is obtained.

In attaining the above objects I employ a continuous pre-heating, enamel fusing (burning) an'd coolin furnace. The articles are loaded outsi e of the furnace on pins o-r blades and are carried into the preheatng chamber where they receive an initial heating from the radiation heat and waste gases coming from the openings in the burning chamber as well as being supplied with the heat from such waste gases as are carried through a flue which extends over the pre-heating chamber.

The articles are then moved from the preheating chamber into the burning chamber where the enamel thereupon is fused. After leaving the burning chamber they pass int-o a cooling chamber where I arrange for cooling the same at a desirable ratev by the use of water coils or other means. By the use of water coils the temperature to which the `articles are cooled as well as the rate at vofthe'furnace shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. o is an elevational sectional view through the pre-heating chamber taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; p

Fig. 4 is an velevational sectional view through the burning chamber taken'on the line 4 -4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig.- 5 is an elevational sectional view .through the cooling chamber taken ,on the line 5-5 of Fig.v 1.

An enameling furnace comprises walls 10 and 11 and a roof portion 12. Centrally situated in said furnace is a burning chamber 13 which is preferably heated by means of gas flame, fuel for, which ris supplied through pipes 14. Obviously any other suitable form of heating means could be used.

On one side of the burning chamber 13 is da re-heating chamber 14 and on the other si e thereof is a cooling chamber 15, the latter having associated therewith cooling coils 16. A iiue 14a extends Afrom the burning chamber over the pre-heating chamber 14 and serves to further heat the latter.

Extending beneath all of the chambers is a runway portion 1-7 in which is positioned a track 18. A conveyor 19, provided at its upper portion with a platform 20 having vthereupon pins or blades.21 which serve to hold articles 22, (runs upon the track 18), a chain 23 has hooks thereon which engage the conveyor 19 and, as the chain is moved lengthwise of the furnace by any desired means (not shown) said conveyor is moved through 'all the furnace chambers at any desired rate.

It will be observed that the chambers are so arranged, that .the conve or may pass progressively therethrough .w ereby the articles which are placed thereupon may be successively pre-heated, fused and cooled. In practiclng my method of enameling, the

` articles to which the enamel has been applied are placed` upon the pins or blades 21 and the conveyor passed into the preheating chamber 14 wherein the temperature 'of the articles is uniformly raised whereby the tendency for them to shrink or warp upon being subjected to the intense heat of the burning chamber, is eliminated.

After the enamel upon the articles has been fused they are withdrawn into the cooling chamber 15 wherein the temperature is lowered at such a rate that they are uniformly cooled and do not tend to bend or warp upon being subjected to the outer air.

From the above description it will be observedl that I have provided an enameling furnace wherein articles may be continuously supplied to one end thereof and withdrawn from the other end thereof without the workmen being subjected to the intense heat of the burning chamber at either end. Morover, the furnace is so arranged that uniformity of product is secured without their being any tendency for the articles to warp either upon being subjected to the intense heat or when they are cooled unless they are quite .large and made of exceedingly thin stock. When the enamel on such excessively large thin-stock articles is fused tendency for said articles to warp exists. Under these circumstances it is desirable to remove these articles from the furnace ina hot condition in order to correct such warped condition. For this purpose, the water cooling coils have been provided and the temperature of the cooling chamber can be maintained at any desired temperature by regulating the flow of water 1n these coils, so that the temperature of the articles that are ejectedfr'om the cooling chamber can be positively determined, and the same maintained hot, if desired.

While I have described but one embodiment of my invention it is .apparent that many modifications therein may occur to those skilled in the art and I desire that it be limited only by the showing of the prior art and by the scope of the appended claims.

Having th'us described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an enameling furnace, a burning or fusing chamber embodying means for raising the temperature therein to an enamel fusing point, a pre-heating chamber situated at one end thereof, means for heatin the latter by the waste gases from sai burning chamber, a coolin chamber situatedat the other end of sai burning chamber, means for definitel controlling,`to a predetermined degree, t e temperature of saidX cooling chamber to providean optimum cooling rate therein and means comprising a carriage embodying article-supporting means and a track along which said carriage runs, associated with said chambers whereby the articles to be enameled may be continuously passed therethrough.

2. In an enameling furnace, a burning or fusing chamber embodying means for raising the temperature therein to an enamel fusing point, a preheating chamber situated at one end thereof, a cooling chamber situated at the other end of said burning chamber, means for passing articles successively thru the preheating chamber, fusing chamber, and cooling chamber, and means for controlling, to a predetermined degree, the cooling effect of said cooling chamber.

` 3. In an enameling` furnace, a burning or fusing chamber embodying means for raising the temperature therein to an enamel fusing point, a preheating chamber situated at one end thereof, a cooling chamber situated at the other end of said burning chamber, means for passing articles succes'- sively through the preheating chamber, fusing` chamber, and cooling chamber, and means for controlling, to a predetermined degree, the cooling effect of said cooling chamber, said last means comprising a conduit through which a heat-absorptive medium may be passed.

4. In lan enameling furnace, a burning or fusing chamber embodying means for rais- Vsaid last means comprising a conduit through which a heat-absorptive medium may be passed in such quantity and at such rate as to'eventuate said predetermined degree of temperature in said cooling chamber. v v

5. In an enameling furnace, a burning or lfusing chamber embodying means for raising the temperature therein to an enamel fusing point, a preheating chamber situated at one end thereof, a cooling chamber situated at the other end of said burning chamber, means for passing articles successively through the preheating chamber, fusing chamber, and cooling chamber, and means for controlling, to a predetermined degree, the cooling effect of said cooling chamber, said last means comprising a coil surrounding said coolin chamber and through which a cooling me ium may be passed to eventuate the desired temperature therein.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

HERBERT CHARLES BEASLEY. 

